1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a watch comprising a casing fitted with a rotating bezel, an annular part of which is toothed, a winding stem delimiting a segment of polygonal cross section situated outside the watch movement, a pinion furnished with an aperture of complementary cross section to that of the said segment, engaged thereon, the toothing of the pinion meshing with that of the said toothed annular part, forming a kinematic link between the rotating bezel and the winding stem.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such watches have already been described in CH 1825 and CH 72852. In each of the solutions proposed, the rotating bezel meshes with a toothed wheel associated with a lever intended for selectively connecting the rotating bezel to the mainspring winding mechanism or to the time-setting gearing.
These solutions require a complete transformation of the watch movement, so that only watches equipped with such movements can be wound via the rotating bezel.
Another solution has been proposed in CH 662235, in which the rotating bezel is fitted with a toothing which meshes, on the one hand, with a pinion integrated with the winding stem, and on the other hand, with a wheel of a time-setting mechanism mounted on an auxiliary plate. The purpose of this solution is to enable a winding and time-setting mechanism to be allied via the rotating bezel without transforming the movement, but by appending an additional module thereto, mounted on the auxiliary plate.
Such a watch nevertheless has several drawbacks. It requires an additional mechanism and the auxiliary plate which carries it substantially increases the height of the movement. Furthermore, if it is desired simultaneously to wind the watch, the time-setting lever is driven and, after a certain angle of rotation, it causes a reverser carried by the lever to mesh with a time-setting pinion, so that if care is not taken so as not to exceed this angle of rotation of the bezel, the time is changed, whereas it was desired only to wind the watch.
Other systems for winding and time-setting via the bezel have been described in CH-A-316 834, as well as in CH-A-65 378. In both instances, the pinion which gears with the toothed crown of the rotating bezel is fully integrated with the winding stem in terms of rotation and translation. In the first of these two documents, the moving of the winding stem causes the toothing of the pinion to part slightly from the toothed crown of the bezel, thus running the risk of damaging these toothings. The second of these documents does not have this drawback, given that the width of the toothed crown has been increased accordingly so as to gear with the pinion of the winding stem in both axial positions of the latter. This solution, intended for a car dashboard clock, would not be suitable for a wristwatch, given that it would increase the width of the rim, impairing the aesthetics of the case.
Although the fashioning of a winding stem segment of square cross section, making it possible to drive the clutch pinion in all its axial positions, for winding and for time-setting, has been well known for all winding mechanisms for nearly a century, this does not however address the matter of holding this clutch pinion axially stationary. On the contrary, this clutch pinion is moved axially in the opposite direction to the winding stem, by way of the time-setting pull-out piece and lever, so as to mesh it with the time-setting reverser.